Sat 17 Dec 2016
Wycombe travelled to Buckingham hoping to build on a good win against Bletchley the previous week. Boosted by the return of several players from university Wycombe started the game on the front foot and a great tackle from Greg Butters saw Buckingham penalised for holding on. This allowed Cam Baker a kick at goal from the ten-metre line, unfortunately the kick went wide. Wycombe continued to dominate both possession and territory and some intelligent kicking from Freddie Roddick pinned Buckingham deep in their half. From a Buckingham lineout Wycombe stole the ball and carried the ball through the forwards close to the try line. After several phases, John O’Clee picked up and forced his way over the line to score, Cam Baker added the conversion 0-7. Buckingham looked rattled and when the kick off didn’t go ten metres Wycombe were awarded a scrum, from which they carried deep into the Buckingham half only to be penalised for holding on at the ruck. Wycombe were dominating both the scrum and lineout and not giving Buckingham any time to settle. From a Buckingham knock on Wycombe regained possession and a slick backs move enabled winger Rob Morgan to go over in the corner, with the kick missed 0-12. Then Wycombe were dealt a blow when the returning Jacob Palmer was forced off with a nasty looking head injury. For the rest of the half Wycombe enjoyed most of the territory and played some attractive rugby, but were unable to add to the score line before half- time.
Wycombe knew that they faced a different Buckingham in the second half and after a strong half time team talk it was Buckingham who started strongly upping the tempo and intensity. Where in the first half it was Wycombe who were dominating, it was now Buckingham and this was forcing Wycombe to drop off tackles. From a rare forage into the Buckingham twenty-two, Wycombe were awarded a scrum on the Buckingham five metre line. With the scrum moving forward Eddie picked up from the base but was stopped just short of the line. Wycombe retained the ball and a strong run from Tom Boardman took him over the line but the referee adjudged the ball was knocked on as he was placing the ball down. Instead of being two scores in front Wycombe soon found themselves just five points in front when a Buckingham scored a good try 7-12. Wycombe cause wasn’t helped when they lost Captain Ian Burnham with a reoccurrence of the ankle injury he sustained at Bletchley. A few minutes later at a ruck a Buckingham boot managed to kick the ball out the back and the loose ball was picked up by a Buckingham player. Some great hands and strong running found Buckingham deep into the Wycombe half and with a big overlap the Buckingham winger scored in the corner, with the kick good 14-12. Buckingham were using their big forwards well and from another foray into the Wycombe twenty-two kicked a drop goal to take the score out to 17-12, and the final whistle came not long after.
Overall a frustrating game, the first forty minutes probably being the best Wycombe have played all season. Buckingham hit back in the second half and Wycombe will be disappointed they couldn’t take advantage of the opportunities they created. With a four week break until the next league match (away at Wallingford) it gives the players a break from rugby and a chance for some of the injured players to get back to full fitness.
